like passing notes in secrecy
by xoitsCASS
Summary: "Henry," Emma starts slowly, moving closer and dropping her voice to a whisper, "you are not going to play matchmaker for your mom." "I know I'm not." Emma breathes out a sigh of relief, and so does Neal. "But you, me, and dad are!"


A/N: Hi! So, I haven't written a full length story in OUaT before... but here we are. This takes place after the new curse has been broken, and everyone is back in Storybrooke, and Emma and Henry have their memories back. Please r&r, thank you!

* * *

**_I_**

"Do you see that?"

Emma whips around in her booth at Granny's, where she's comfortably seated next to Neal, with Henry sitting in front of them. What she sees is … Regina Mills talking to little Roland.

"What about it?" Emma asks as she swallows the fries she stuffed into her mouth. "You're not jealous are you, kid? Because you know Regina loves –"

"No, not that," Henry says as if it's the most obvious thing. "Look." He points to the bar, where Robin Hood is standing and grinning at Regina and his son.

_Ah. _Emma understands now.

"Henry," Emma starts slowly, moving closer and dropping her voice to a whisper, "you are not going to play matchmaker for your mom."

"I know I'm not." Emma breathes out a sigh of relief, and so does Neal. "But you, me, and dad are!"

Emma almost does a spit-take, and Neal coughs into his napkin. "We're doing what now?" Neal sputters out and Emma tries to keep a straight face.

"I want mom to be happy, and I know you do too Emma."

"Yes, but –"

"And Robin Hood is exactly what she needs! He's her complete opposite and he's _good_ and he knows how to love and he has a son!"

Henry is beaming with excitement by now, and poor Emma doesn't have the heart to let him down. Of course he wants to make his mom happy, with what she did for them before the second curse hit – not to mention, how he treated her before the first curse was broken.

With a huff, Emma says, "fine." _But I don't picture it going well,_ Emma wants to add, because she can't see this going anywhere fast. Regina and Robin Hood? The idea was absurd.

Except it really wasn't, a small part in her mind reasoned.

"Emma –" Neal begins to say, but Emma kicks him under the table and shakes her head.

"Operation … Happiness."

Emma smiles at that and she sees Neal crack his boyish grin as well, and she feels her heart swell, and damn if she doesn't want Regina to feel the same way that she does in this moment.

* * *

"Daddy says you made this whole town!"

Regina's smile falters, only slightly, before going bright once more as she looked down at the adorable face of Roland. "I did," she responds, although vaguely and her voice is a little strained. She and Roland have been talking for a little over ten minutes, and the little boy has not been quiet. Not that she minds.

"It's pretty and I like the food here."

"Roland, let the lady finish her breakfast," Robin chastised as he moved from his place leaning against the bar to stand above his son, ruffling his hair affectionately. He sets the glass he's holding in his hand on the table beside Roland's plate.

Regina looks up at Robin, her body going slightly more rigid. "It's perfectly alright, dear, I quite enjoy talking to him." She turns her sights onto Roland and gives him a smile.

"See? Miss Regina says it's okay for me to talk to her!" Roland sticks out his tongue at Robin before he stuffs a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

"I'm sorry for my son," Robin tries again, sitting on the opposite side of the table.

Regina takes a sip of her coffee, dabbing her mouth with a napkin and her eyes meeting Robin's. "Like I said, it's just fine. He reminds me of Henry… when he was that age." She feels her mood dampen the littlest bit, but she tries not to let it show in her smile.

"Your Henry is a very lovely boy," Robin says genuinely.

"Thank you, but I wouldn't necessarily call him _mine_." She's not bitter when she says this, – not much, anyway –not anymore.

"He's a lucky kid, to have three parents that love him," Robin notes as he takes a sip of his orange juice and takes a piece of bacon from Roland's plate.

Regina's eyes shift away from father and son awkwardly before her gaze sets on Henry, Emma, and Neal. They're looking at her too, and as soon as she makes eye contact with Henry and he gives her a smile, she knows that Robin is right.

"Thank you," Regina says quietly, taking another sip of her coffee.

Robin chuckles and rolls up his sleeves. "You're welcome."

She sees it then, that damned tattoo. She swears it has been mocking her since she saw it a year ago back in the Enchanted Forest. She grits her teeth together. True love? Him?

Regina takes the time to study him for the umpteenth time, how utterly _different _he is from Daniel – he's slightly arrogant, he has a bit of a temper, he's cocky. Not her type. At all. But then he does these cute little things with Roland that makes her want to smile. And he _accepts _her. He doesn't agree with her magic, but he accepts her and doesn't judge her.

She doesn't realize she was staring at Robin until Roland pulled on the sleeve of her blazer. "Miss Regina, are you okay?"

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry. I just… I must've –" She looks up at Robin and he's looking away from her, but the telltale of the dimple on his cheek tells her that he's smiling. She shakes her head, trying to regain composure. "What were you saying, Roland?"

"I was wondering if me and Henry could go to the park today?"

Regina looks over at Henry in the booth with Emma and Neal, and then looks back down at Roland. "Why don't you go ask him? I'm sure he'll be happy to play with you at the park." She gives him the smile that's only on reservation for Henry.

"Okay!" He hops off his chair and bounds over to Henry's table.

A couple moments of silence, Regina looking down at the darkness of her coffee.

"You're great with him, you know."

Regina's head snaps up at Robin's voice. She doesn't quite know what to say, it's not every day that people compliment her and Robin's been doing it since they've met.

"Thank you."

Robin simply grins at her in response before eating the rest of the food on Roland's plate, and Regina tries to ignore the feeling in her stomach – the feeling she only felt once in her life, and that was with Daniel.


End file.
